Peter's Present
by WriterWilf
Summary: On the morning of Christmas Eve, Lucy wakes up to find that the soldiers from the northern borders have come home for the Christmas season. Which means one thing...Peter is home! As she and her brother reunite after months of being away, Lucy discovers there's one thing she wants for Christmas more than anything else. Merry belated Christmas and Happy New Year!


**AN: This was a story that I had originally published back in 2012, if I recall correctly. Though I had taken it down, I had received e-mails asking where it had gone. I decided that perhaps I would put it on here after some edits. Not to worry though, it's still much the same.**

**For those of you who don't know. This idea came to me when watching the Folgers coffee commercial. (Please note that I don't promote any one type of coffee over the other.) The one where the boy comes home after being in Africa, and the sister greets him at the door and they have a cup of coffee together while the parents are sleeping. And then I just started jotting this idea down and went with it. I know that this is a bit late in coming. But if you think about it, Christmas is still going on. We still have the Day of the Three Kings (the Magi or Wise-men.) And in some branches of Christianity, they honor when Mary and Joseph visited the temple and also Simeon's prophecy. So technically, it's not late at all. :)**

**Disclaimer: Narnia is not mine. Don't sue.  
**

Lucy Pevensie's eyes started to flutter open as life began to stir in the city outside of Cair Paravel. She could hear the clattering of wagons with wooden wheels on the snow-covered cobbled streets. To the east the sun was in its morning position. If she were to guess, it was about six thirty. Slowly she sat up in bed and peered out the window. She smiled as she crawled out of bed and carefully slipped on her slippers. In only her night-clothes, she made her way to the window and glanced out. It was from there she could make out a better view of what was going on outside of Cair Paravel.

The windows of Lucy's room faced eastward, so the view did not help her see what was going on outside the city. But, she could see the eastern shore of Narnia covered in white snow. Gray rocks that stood on the shore and within the water were capped with the powdery crystals which glittered in the sun's rays. The Eastern Sea was still as blue as it was usually. Sea water churned around the gray rocks and lapped against the snow-covered shores. Usually, whenever Lucy awoke, she could hear the soft singing of the merpeople. Since winter had arrived though, the merpeople had migrated to the more southern waters, mainly towards southern Archenland and northern Calormen. Lucy could hardly blame them for wanting warmer water. There were days when the winter seemed to drag, and the feel of it still caused uneasiness in the Narnians, even after three years since the White Witch had been defeated. Regardless, Lucy refused to let winter damper her spirits. Why find misery in something that was going to last for a fourth of the year when there was so much joy to be had in it?

Her gaze turned away from the Eastern Sea and to the eastern side of the courtyard. She smiled as she saw the Narnian servants stepping out of their assigned quarters and beginning their morning tasks. She frowned when her gaze fell upon her garden, which once held bushes filled with blooming flowers. Those bushes were dead though, all of the green had left them once the flowers had shriveled and died. That was one of the things that kept Lucy hoping for spring, to see her flowers return to life and see the beautiful butterflies collecting the nectar while the bees went to work collecting the pollen, and her whole garden would draw the awe of any guests from foreign countries who happened to come across it.

The sound of bells were ringing to her left, and Lucy smiled. Her eyes immediately turned to the small little church which had been built so that the Kings and Queens and the servants could all gather for service whenever Heliday rolled around. It was only Areday though, and there were no services being held. Instead all the bells were doing was announcing the passing of another hour. It rang six times, and she knew then that it was only six 'o' clock in the morning. Lucy smiled as she saw Father Steelhand, the Centaur who served as the priest, came out to greet any servants who had chosen to come and observe the daily morning Mass. When his fair-skinned face glanced up in the direction of her window, she waved to him. At first, she thought he had not seen it, but when he waved back, she felt her smile grow.

Just as she was about to step away from the window and draw the curtain so she could change from her nightclothes, Lucy saw someone whom she had not expected. A gasp escaped from her mouth as she saw another centaur making his way up to the church. This was no average centaur however, for it was Orieus, hero of the Battle of Beruna and one of the generals of Peter's army, not to mention Peter's second-in-command. For a moment she was unable to do anything but stare incredulously as Orieus greeted Father Steelhand. The Centaur general was still wearing his armor, but she knew it did not bother Orieus. As second-in-command and general of the army, Orieus practically lived in the suit.

As delighted as she was to see Orieus, it was not just the Centaur's appearance in the courtyard which was making her smile. Rather, it was someone else. Her heart beat with excited joy as she quickly ran from the window and grabbed her light-blue robe. While she tied the strings she ran out of her bedroom and made her way down to the closest flight of steps which led in the direction of the kitchen.

"Knowing Peter, he would not want to barge in and announce his coming when he knows that the rest of us are asleep," she thought. "And no doubt he is probably hungry and wants some freshly baked food after being caught in the north dealing with those bothersome supporters of the Witch."

She practically collided into a naiad maidservant as she took a sudden turn. The maidservant was carrying fresh towels in her hands, no doubt taking them to Susan's washroom. In a startled cry, the maidservant said, "Goodness! Pardon me your Majesty!"

Lucy drew to a stop. "No, no, please pardon me," she insisted, feeling a little twinge of guilt for having almost slammed into the Naiad. Still, she found it difficult not to suppress the desire to see Peter again. She only stayed for a few seconds to ask the naiad, "Have you seen his majesty Peter since you have awoken?"

"I am afraid not my queen," the Naiad said apologetically. "Though I have seen that his soldiers have returned. So I would not doubt he is here."

Lucy nodded in understanding and once again apologized. When the Naiad insisted that she need not concern herself, the queen of Narnia then started making her way towards the kitchen once more. Rather than heading for it in a full run, she decided that she best walk quickly. She did not want to run over unsuspecting maidservants after all.

Within a couple of minutes she was inside the kitchen. Where sure enough, she found her brother. He was speaking with the Cook, who was a rather daunting-looking man who had immigrated to Narnia from Galma once he had heard the Witch had been destroyed. Lucy recalled the times when the Cook would get mad at the servants who worked in the kitchen with him. Should they over-bake a pie crust or under-bake a tray of rolls he would smack them over the head with his soup ladle. Despite her authority over him, Lucy always felt a little timid when she entered the Kitchen.

She felt no fear when she saw that the Cook was in a reasonably good mood. (Clearly no one had ruined this morning's breakfast yet.) He was speaking with the High King of Narnia in a rather pleasant tone as well. Lucy smiled as she saw the Cook hand Peter a ceramic cup filled with a steaming liquid. Judging from the scent that tickled her nose, she determined it was coffee. She smiled as she saw her brother inhale the scent, as if smelling the fragrance would help keep him awake.

Peter had continued speaking to the Cook for another couple of seconds before he noticed her. When he did, a smile spread across his face, and it caused Lucy's heart to feel warm inside. Quickly she ran up to her brother and wrapped her arms around him, hugging him tightly to her. His chuckle filled the kitchen as he said, "Well I am glad somebody missed me," he said, his smile growing.

"I did Peter," Lucy said, her head looking up at her older brother's face. Despite the fact that her it could use a good shaving and perhaps a good wash, seeing his face was perhaps the most beautiful moment for her. Nuzzling her face into his brother's chest she said, "I missed you so much."

The two royal siblings left the Kitchen and entered the Dining Hall so as not to cause an obstacle for the Cook and the servants. As they walked, Lucy spoke. "Edmund and Susan have been waiting up all night for the past week since they received your letter." The Dining Hall had still yet to be prepared. No food was sat out or any plates or goblets. However, silver, gold, red, and green decorations hung from the walls and the centerpieces bore Christmas-themed decor. Peter took a seat at one chair while Lucy took a seat in another.

"I see Susan has been at work with the decorating," he said.

Lucy nodded. "She has been working on it for nearly three weeks now. From what she has told me, she is not even halfway done."

Peter raised his eyebrows in surprise. "Isn't tomorrow Christmas? Or am I losing track of my days again?"

"It is Christmas Eve. Those poor decorators are not going to be able to open their presents once Father Christmas comes."

"I remembered Susan said something about that in one of her letters to me. Though she did not go into it much because she went on writing about some man who had attempted to court her."

"Yes, it was a lord of Archenland. The courtship only lasted about a month before they decided it was not going to work."

Peter raised an eyebrow in curiosity. Smiling ruefully despite himself, he said, "Did Edmund chase him away?"

Lucy nodded. "It really was rather humorous. Even funnier when Edmund threw the man's gifts for Susan out the door after him."

"Am I correct in my guess that he didn't think too highly of the man?"

"The man was arrogant. He saw the Talking Beasts of Narnia as subjects that had to be ruled and nothing more. Didn't show much distinction between them and the common Beasts such as his horse. He even tried to ride one of the talking Horses despite the Horse not giving him any permission. When Philip had told Edmund, he was not too happy. Needless to say, the suitor didn't gain much appreciation from him. And when Susan heard word she didn't think too highly either. She was the one who insisted that Edmund take the gifts away."

"Good," said Peter in approval. "Speaking of gifts, I think Father Christmas has decided to stop in early," Peter said. That was when Lucy realized that sitting beside the chair Peter sat in was a brown burlap sack which was tied closed with a red draw-string. Lucy watched as Peter reached down and untied the bag.

"Oh Peter, you shouldn't have!" she said, delight dancing in her eyes.

"It is actually a long way from the northern border of Narnia, believe it or not," he said to her. "While I was there I happened upon some Red Dwarfs who ran a forge and heard that the work was very distinguished. So I had them forge you, Edmund, and Susan a gift. " He then handed her a red box with a green ribbon tied around it. There was also a silver bow on it. "This one is for you."

The queen of Narnia accepted the gift from her brother. For a moment she stared at it, marveling over it, wondering what it was that was contained inside.

But after she glanced at it for a few moments, she realized that this was not the present she wanted most. Since the months her brother first set out to the north, she had always longed for her family to be together for the holidays and enjoy this merry time together. She was afraid that Edmund would eventually have to return to the Western wood because some renegade Narnians had decided to revolt. Or she feared that Susan might get so excited about a lover that she would sail to the country of that lover and spend a few months there.

And yet, here they were. Peter was back from the north for a short time to celebrate the holidays. No revolts had risen up in the Western Wild for the first time in the three years they had ruled as kings and queens of Narnia. And strangely, Susan had not had many suitors in the past couple of months.

In her heart, Lucy was very grateful to Aslan for keeping their family safe. That was all she had truly wanted. She wanted to spend Christmas together with her family. If that meant giving up all the rest of the presents she could possibly get that year, she would have done it.

Which was why she then took the silver bow from the present Peter had given her. She noted her brother's eyebrows as they raised in curiosity as she sat the present on the table. Then she took the bow and placed it gently on her brother's chest.

"What's this?" he asked, taking the bow off.

"You're my present this year," Lucy responded, her smile spreading from ear to ear.

A stunned expression spread across Peter's face. Before he could respond, he felt Lucy's arms around him once again. They wrapped so tightly around him he had to set the cup of coffee on the table to keep it from spilling. The thought of coffee was pushed out of his mind as he embraced his sister tightly. Feeling blessed to be able to come back home and spend the season with his family like they used to before.

**AN: Merry belated Christmas and New Year everyone! XD**


End file.
